New Delhi, 22 October 2023 (WAI): On October 22, India sent humanitarian aid of 38.5 tons for the devastated people of Gaza via the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt.
The relief supplies were sent to the Egyptian Red Crescent at Egypt’s El Arish airfield, close to the Gaza border.
Two weeks earlier, Israel and Hamas went to war, with the former ruling the Palestinian Gaza Strip, home to 2.4 million people.
In reaction to Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, which killed at least 1,400 people, Israel’s military has hammered Gaza with continuous attacks.
As per the health ministry being run by Hamas, the bombing campaign has killed over 4,300 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and turned large swaths of the densely inhabited region into smoldering rubble.
Delhi denounced Hamas for the attack but restated its long-standing support for an independent Palestinian state.
“An IAF C-17 flight carrying nearly 6.5 tons of medical aid and 32 tons of disaster relief material for Palestinians departs for Egypt’s El-Arish airport.” India’s minister of external affairs, Arindam Bagchi stated.
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“Among other things, the material includes essential life-saving medicines, surgical items, tents, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, sanitary utilities, and water purification tablets,” Bagchi mentioned.
Also, consistently, Israel has advised the 1.1 million Palestinians in Gaza’s north to go south before any ground attack.
Food, water, and medication crossed the border from Egypt into Gaza on Saturday, despite US pressure.
Despite the arrival of 20 trucks in Palestinian territory on Saturday, the Hamas government has criticized the lack of supplies. According to the report, the enclave currently has 1.4 million displaced persons.
It must also be kept in mind that India maintains a delicate balance in its foreign policy practice, supporting the Palestinian cause while engaging with Israel.
An International Relations graduate, with a keen interest in diverse areas of IR; diplomacy, global politics & human rights.
